Come From The Heart

2 Samuel 6:16-23 is the story of King David celebrating the Ark of the Covenant, or Ark of the Lord coming to The City of David.

Michal the daughter of the deceased King Saul, King David’s predecessor, looks upon David dancing as he celebrates the arrival of the ark with disdain. She despises David.

The verses never say exactly why she harbors these feelings of ill will towards David. My guess is she is upset over her father’s death and since David is his successor, she holds David responsible for his death. Although those feelings would be misguided, it seems only natural that when something bad happens we look for someone to blame.

Michal sees David celebrating and must have found it to be not very “king like”.

2 Samuel 6:14

And David danced before the Lord with all his might…

King David was getting down and didn’t give a damn about what others thought. This was his honest way of expressing the joy in his heart for The Ark of the Lord being brought into his city.

But dead King Saul’s daughter, Michal, has a real attitude about the whole show.

2 Samuel 6:16

…Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord and she despised him in her heart.

Michal was predisposed to be critical of David since she most likely held him accountable for her father’s death, even though King Saul was his own worst enemy at times. Saul had bouts of psychosis and David wasn’t anywhere near Saul when he fell on his own sword. Now seeing David doing something that was generally done by the women, well that just added fuel to the fire.

So Michal let’s David know just how she feels.

2 Samuel 6:20

And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!”

But David will have none of her misplaced anger.

2 Samuel 6:21-22

And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.”

David knows the true nature of Michal’s contempt, it’s not about David’s uninhibited dancing. That’s just the catalyst for Michal to voice her abuse at David. The real reason is her jealousy of losing her place as daughter of the king. She coveted the power and lost her place at the political table.

David makes no apologies for his uninhibited and honest rejoicing. He expresses the joy that lives in his heart and is not concerned about what others think. His number one priority is his relationship with God.

It’s like the song says:

You’ve got to sing like you don’t need the money

Love like you’ll never get hurt

You’ve got to dance like nobody’s watching

It’s got to come from the heart

If you want it to work

Come From The Heart (Richard Leigh/Susanna Clarke)

Here’s a version by the late Don Williams

David understood that God has to reside in your heart, not in a temple, or a box, or in the opinions of others.

So whatever you do, if it comes from the heart, truly comes from the heart, it can’t be wrong.